Oilers defeat Stars on late goal by Benning

EDMONTON --Defenseman Matt Benning scored with 2:27 remaining in the third period to give the Edmonton Oilers a 5-4 win against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place on Thursday.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals, and Leon Draisaitl had three assists for Edmonton (3-5-1), which won for the first time in three games. Connor McDavid and Pat Maroon also scored, and Cam Talbot made 28 saves.

"It was a good sign for our team," Benning said. "It was a close game going into the third and those are the kind of games you need to win to be there in the playoffs. It's a step in the right direction to get some confidence in this locker room."
WATCH: [All Stars vs. Oilers highlights]
Jamie Benn had two goals, Alexander Radulov had a goal and two assists, and Esa Lindell scored for Dallas (5-5-0). The Stars were 3-for-5 on the power play. Ben Bishop made 30 saves in the second of a five-game road trip. Dallas lost 5-3 at the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
"We just don't do enough in the details in critical ice to have a better record," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We look like we have a way better record by the way we play, but in the details, we don't get it done. Not right now."
McDavid scored on a breakaway at 10:31 of the first period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. It was the first time since the second game of the season Edmonton scored first.

Benn tied the game 1-1 at 11:34, taking a centering pass from Radulov and lifting a shot over Talbot.
Maroon gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead at 19:35 when his centering pass hit Stars defenseman Marc Methot's skate and bounced past Bishop.
"We clawed back, you have to like that part of it, but it is really disappointing to lose that game," Hitchcock said. "We are not doing enough of the details that can control the hockey game."
Radulov scored on the power play at 2:58 of the second period to tie it 2-2. He one-timed a cross-ice pass from Tyler Seguin past Talbot.
Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton up 3-2 at 13:46, collecting the puck off the end boards off a shot from defenseman Kris Russell and tucking it past Bishop.

Benn tied it 3-3 on the power play at 16:19, putting a rebound past Talbot.
Lindell scored on the power play at 10:25 of the third period to give the Stars a 4-3 lead.
"It's disappointing when you have a lead late in the third, you have to find a way to hunker down and get the job done," Bishop said. "They didn't give up and found a way to get some goals late."
Nugent-Hopkins tied it 4-4 at 12:16 on a shot from the slot that hit Stars defenseman Dan Hamhuis and went past Bishop.
"We know that [scoring], we have that in our room, we're capable of that," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We went through a stretch like this last year where it was kind of the same thing, we were putting a lot on net but just weren't able to score on second and third opportunities. Tonight it kind of clicked for us, so we want to keep that rhythm and get on a roll here."
Edmonton ended a three-game home losing streak.
"That's the big hump we got over as a team," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "I could talk about the negatives that we have to fix, but I'm going to focus on us having the ability to outscore that team 5-1 at even strength. That's a good sign."

Goal of the game

Dallas forward Jason Spezza sent a cross-ice slap pass to Lindell at the side of the net and he sent a snap shot past Talbot.

Save of the game

Talbot turned away Methot from in close at 12:56 of the third period to keep the game tied 4-4.

Highlight of the game

Benning took a pass from Draisaitl at the point and one-timed a shot that hit Radulov and went in past Bishop.

They said it

"There was some room on the left side. I kept it on the ice. You never know what can happen when the puck gets there. Good things happen when you shoot." -- Oilers defenseman Matt Benning on his winning goal
"The leadership group, what more can they do? They are playing unbelievable. Other people have to step up here. We need to look in the mirror and we'll do that tomorrow morning." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock

Need to know

Benn has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past four games. … Edmonton had scored seven goals on 200 even-strength shots before scoring five goals on 29 even-strength shots against the Stars.

What's next

Stars: At the Calgary Flames on Friday (9 p.m. ET; SN360, FS-SW, NHL.TV)
Oilers:Host the Washington Capitals on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN1, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)